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“Italian language and literature.”
“Olivia tells me you’ve traveled around Italy quite a bit.”
“As well as France, Austria and Switzerland. I love this part of the world.”
“Have you ever wanted to live in Europe?”
At that moment Brooke wished she’d never agreed to come. Nic’s mother obviously regarded her as an intruder, or worse, an opportunist. Should she explain that she understood Nic was off-limits? She couldn’t imagine that was the sort of polite conversation one made with the elegant queen of Sherdana.
“I love California. I did my undergraduate work in New York City.” Brooke knit her fingers together in her lap lest she surrender to the urge to play with her silverware. “I couldn’t wait to get back home.”
“Home is a wonderful place to be. Are you hungry?” The queen gestured to the maids and one of them lifted the lid off the serving dish. “Crepes are my weakness,” the queen said. “There are also omelets made with spinach and mushrooms or the chef would be happy to prepare something else if you’d prefer.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble.” The crepes looked marvelous. Some were filled with strawberries, others with something creamy and covered in apples or...
“Pears roasted in butter and honey over crepes filled with ricotta cheese,” the queen said, her eyes softening for the first time in Brooke’s company.
If Brooke hadn’t been so queasy, she could have easily eaten her way through half a dozen of the thin fluffy pancakes. As it was, she took one of each kind and nibbled at them.
“Olivia tells me you spoke of leaving in the next few days,” the queen remarked in her delightfully accented English. “But when I spoke with Nicolas last night, he wishes you to remain through the wedding.” She tucked into her breakfast with relish, obviously enjoying herself. “I think my son believes himself in love with you.”
Brooke’s coffee cup rattled against the saucer as she set it down too abruptly. Her stomach seized and suddenly eating the crepes didn’t strike her as the smartest idea. The queen’s words repeated themselves several times in Brooke’s head. He believes himself in love with you. Not he’s in love with you. Brooke recognized the difference. In high school and college she’d believed herself in love any number of times. Then she’d met Nic and began the discovery of what love truly was.
“I’m sorry, but you’re wrong.” Brooke put her napkin to her lips as her body flushed hot. It wasn’t embarrassment or guilt, but her system reacting to stress and being pregnant. “Nic knows his mind like no man I’ve ever met. His heart belongs to this country and his family.”
The queen sighed. “And you are in love with him.”
The edges of Brooke’s vision darkened. What was Nic’s mother trying to establish? Already Brooke had accepted that she and Nic had no future. She knew he would never give his mother any cause to believe otherwise so she guessed the queen’s protective instincts were kicking in. She understood. In a little more than seven months she would have her own child to keep from harm. Heaven help anyone who got in her way.
“He’s my brother’s best friend...” Brooke said, her voice trailing off. “I’ve known Nic for years. Did I once want something more? Yes. But that was before I knew who he was and what was expected of him.”
“Are you trying to tell me you didn’t know he was a prince?”
Brooke held still beneath the queen’s penetrating regard. The older woman’s face became difficult to stay focused on. Brooke wanted nothing more than to lie down until the spinning stopped.
“I didn’t know until a few days ago. He left California without a word after the accident. I tracked him down to Ithaca because he wouldn’t return my phone calls or emails. I was worried about how he was coping in the aftermath.” She hoped the queen was satisfied with her reason for following Nic to Greece and would refrain from probing further.
The queen nodded. “The rocket ship was very important to him. But it’s gone and he needs to put it behind him.” Her tone was matter-of-fact as she dismissed her son’s driving passion.
“He can’t just put it behind him. He feels responsible for the death of one of his fellow scientists.” Brooke endured a sharp pinch of sadness that Nic’s mother didn’t understand this about her son. “Walter hadn’t been with the team long, but he worked closely with Nic. I think part of the reason why Nic was so willing to come home and let you marry him off was because he felt as if he’d failed Walter and Glen and even you and the king. I think the reason he worked so hard was to justify being away from Sherdana. He spent every day proving that his work would benefit future generations, driving himself beyond exhaustion in order to contribute something amazing to the world. So that his absence from you had meaning.”
